Thank you for visiting my BLOG. This is where I get the opportunity to tell you, my dear reader, about my journey from being an obese man to an endurance athlete.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Past 2 Years

What have I done since my last update?

Life has been keeping me busy and out of trouble (for the most part). I have continued to train, raced in a number of races, hit some low points, high points, bonked, recovered, gained weight, lost weight, crashed (literally and figuratively), got up again, and eventually moved on. No matter what you do, no matter what goals you have, continued forward momentum is what will make you reach the finish line, it's what will make your dreams come true, it's what will make you, you. You will always have people who will despise you, despise your goals, try to knock you down a notch, and those who will come between you and the "finish line". I used to say that they do this because of jealousy... this may have some truth to it, but in all honesty, it doesn't really matter. Your goal is to minimize the associations with negative influences and maximize the positive.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." Will Rogers.

Ok, enough preaching....

What have I done? My last update was "Wildflower 2009" in May of 2009. Since then, here are the races that I have completed and my time:

San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon (May 2009), 3:11

Vineman Ironman Distance Triathlon (August 2009), 11:21

Magic Mountainman, Half Ironman Distance Tri (October 2009), 5:49

California International Marathon (December 2009), 3:13

13.1 LA Half Marathon (January 2010), 1:30

LA Marathon (March 2010), 3:04

Wildflower Long Half Ironman Distnace Tri (May 2010), 5:39

San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon (May 2010), 3:09

Vineman Ironman Distnace Triathlon (July 2010), 11:36

Malibu Marathon (November 2010), 3:15

One of my lifelong goals was to qualify for the Boston Marathon, and I did, during 2010 LA Marathon. Training for speed was the key to accomplish this task. I could not have done it without the support from my family, and my best friends & training partners Alison Chavez, Angela Brunson, Kyla Faye, Lisa Fink, and Ankur Tarneja, who all have yelled at me many times when I started to slack off. Of course, my running coach, John Medina is the greatest. He has taught me patience, pacing, and re-ignited my passion for running. My triathlon coaches, Paul Ruggiero and Rad Hallman are two more people I am honored to have in my life. They have taught me pretty much how to swim, how to ride my bike, run, and to combine all of the above. Ankur's famous words, "stop dragging ass" is what keeps me going during the last 4 miles of pretty much all my events. Ankur, btw, is a 2:36 marathoner. Of course, Angela's "Do, or do not. There is no try." motto is what I keep reminding myself time and time again when I think about "trying" something. Angela has done the world's shortest races and the longest and most certainly, toughest. From a 1 mile fun runs, to having done 30 marathons, to having completed the world's toughest foot race, the Badwater 135 ultra marathon running 135 miles in 120+ degree heat. Kyla is my amazing celebrity superstar friend. She's definitely my most famous friend who was Miss Utah, in addition to being in Fear Factor, fitness competitions, modeling, and tons of other TV & print stuff. She's also a kick ass personal trainer, has qualified for Boston marathon numerous times, and ran Boston. Lisa Fink is my other speedy friend. Calling Lisa "fast" would be a HUGE understatement. She's not only fast, she's "I am going to win this thing" fast. The 2010 LA marathon was her PR with a time of 3:03. nearly 25,000 people ran the race and she won her age group. She has also won the 2009 Malibu Marathon, and came in 2nd in 2010. Alison Chavez is my best friend. She is among the most athletic and successful people I know with 10+ marathons, 3 Ironmans a really hard 50K utramarathon (with 8000 ft elevation gain), a 4.8 mile ultra swim race, many centuries, half ironmans, and tons of other stuff under her belt. When I don't feel like getting up in the mornings, I play the "what is Alison up to" game. So, name suggesting, I log onto facebook and see what Alison is up to at 5AM. She's either swimming, riding, running, taking a spin class, doing weights, boot camp, or any of the combinations thereof. Next thing I know, I am putting on my running shoes or my helmet. Should I mention that she does all this alongside working 10-16 hour days? There are so many other people who, for the sake of keeping this thing semi-short, I have not mentioned. However, I can write pages on every single one of my good friends, whom I would give my life for in a heartbeat.

Obviously, the point of this is to thank my friends. But even a bigger point is to emphasize the importance of positive attitudes. Sure, you can do things on your own, but it's just so much easier (and funner) to do it with others. So, whatever your goals are, get to know like-minded people, get your hands on quality how-to information (whether it's a coach or a reputable training plan) and just do it (remember, there is no 'try').

Let's see, what else is new? There is a wonderful new woman in my life with a nickname "Tough Cupcake". It was supposed to be tough cookie, but she likes cupcakes better. I mean, who doesn't? Cookies are soooooooooooo yesterday. I met her in Spring 2010, during our first date, which was a bike ride, our conversation went something like this:

From that point, she not only busted her butt and trained religiously, but she absolutely ROCKED Vineman Ironman Distance triathlon in July 2010 with a time of 13:13 and coming in 6th in her age division. I should mention that prior to Vineman, she had never done a marathon or a triathlon longer than a sprint. Her and I plan on running Comrades Marathon (56 mile foot race) in South Africa on May 2011.

As for my near-term goals, I will repeat 13.1 LA in January 2011, then attempt a PR at LA Marathon in March, then Boston Marathon in April, Comrades Marathon in May, and Challenge UK (Ironman distance Tri) in September 2011.

Who am I?

My name is Arkady and I'm hoping to inspire you. I've had quite a journey to be where I am now. In 2006, I weighed 240 pounds with nearly 40% body fat. Tired of being out of shape, I decided to take responsibility for my own actions. In a nutshell, I cleaned up my eating, started to exercise, and surrounded myself with positive like-minded individuals. In the process, I lost weight and gained numerous health benefits including lower blood pressure and the ability to actually run around the block without the feeling that my heart is about you burst out of my chest. My goal is not to brag, but to inspire. During my journey, I discovered a hobby, which quickly became my passion. Running! With the help of my wonderful friends, mentors, and coaches, I have competed in many marathons, ultramarathons, triathlons. None of this happened overnight. It all started with the first step, then second, then third. I hope that you will find my blog inspiring enough to start taking action and make health and fitness a lifestyle. To get more information about my transformation, please see first blog post on November 29, 2007.